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ISSN 0899-6571

Photography for the cover,
"Downtown Revitalization" and
the first page of "The Score
on Credit Scoring" by
Ron Sherman

During the past three decades, numerous Southeastern cities have implemented downtown revitalization projects. While these projects have experienced mixed success, cities throughout the region continue to use both public and private funds as they pursue successful solutions to rejuvenate their downtown districts.

As credit scoring has been applied to small business lending during the 1990s, some groups claim that the scoring process discriminates against certain segments of the population seeking those loans. A recent study by three Atlanta Fed researchers, however, found that, among other things, credit scoring might actually help small business owners in low- and moderate-income areas get loans.

Two years ago, Asian economies began to feel the impact of a full-blown financial crisis sparked by a currency and financial crisis in Thailand. That crisis soon spread to other emerging economies in Russia and Latin America. In this issue of EconSouth, the Atlanta Fed's Latin America Research Group looks at how these economies have managed during the crisis and whether the international economic crisis is in fact over.